The Only Way Out
by Eris historia
Summary: What happens when Lily is forced into an arranged marriage and the only way out is to marry someone else.FINISHED
1. life's a dance I'm just using song title...

Disclaimer: Don't own any of it. Not making any money off of it. Don't waste your time tryin to sue me 'cause I have nuttin'.  
  
In this fic Lily's about nineteen and James is too.  
  
Lily Evans crept downstairs. She paused when she heard her parent's voices.  
  
"But Wesley, we shouldn't be forcing her to marry. What if she doesn't like him?" her mother said.  
  
"Don't worry, Rose. We arranged a marriage for Petunia and she's happy with Vernon," her father said reassuringly.  
  
"I know, dear. It's just that Lily's always been so much more headstrong than Petunia. She won't like being forced into a marriage.  
  
"Well, the only way she can get out of it is to get a fiancée by the time we introduce her to her new husband, and she doesn't even have a boyfriend that we know of yet."  
  
"Yes, well, I hope you're right dear. Who knows, she could possibly like Severus Snape. After all, he's a wizard too. It was terrible trying to find a wizard for her to marry."  
  
Lily had a million thoughts running through her head as she walked quietly back up to her room. What! Snape? How could my parents do this to me? I'll agree to an arranged marriage, but not with Snape! Ugh! Gross! He's a slimeball.!! She made up her mind. The only way she could get out of this ludicrous marriage was to find another guy to marry. Someone not Snape.  
  
* * * * * * * * The next day..  
  
"Bye, Mum I'm going to go to Diagon Alley," Lily shouted as she went into the fireplace  
  
"Okay, dear! Just be home by 6:00."  
  
"All right," Lily said as she told the fireplace her destination and with a woosh she was on her way.  
  
She stumbled out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron and went to the back and tapped the proper brick and walked into Diagon Alley.  
  
She was going to meet the person she had sent an owl to last night. Someone she hoped could get her out of this stupid marriage with Snape.  
  
There! She saw him! Standing outside Flourish and Blotts like she had asked him to. She walked up to him and said in a controlled voice, "Thanks for coming. I really appreciate it." Oh!!!!!! Cliffie!!!!!!!! Who is it?? Read and find out!!!!! I'll try to update soon!!!! Please review even if it is a flame I appreciate all reviews! 


	2. standing outside the fire

Disclaimer: don't own any of it, not makin' money off of it. It all belongs to JKR. Don't sue me 'cause I got nuttin'. Seriously, I'm almost broke!  
  
A/N sorry the last chapter was so short I'll try to make them longer in the future. And thanx to all the people who reviewed last time. I really appreciate it.  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
"What did you call me over here for on such short notice," James Potter said in an annoyed sort of tone.  
  
"Well, I needed to talk to you. You see, I have a sort of. problem," Lily replied, unsure of how to proceed.  
  
"A problem, Evans?"  
  
"Yes and I need you to help me with it."  
  
"Uh-huh. And this problem would be." James asked.  
  
"Well see my parents are forcing me into an arranged marriage and I don't really want to be married right now and the only way out of it is to marry someone else and announce it to my family before I meet my arranged husband," Lily said in one big breath.  
  
"And what does all this have to do with me?" James asked quizzically.  
  
"Well, I was kind of hoping that you'd marry me."  
  
At this statement James burst out laughing. "Nice joke, Evans," He said.  
  
"No joke, Potter. I'm serious. I want you to marry me. I figure that you're as good as anyone and after all those rumors in school about us, it would be easy to believe that we're getting married."  
  
"It would?"  
  
"Yes! All those rumors going around that we were dating each other in school make it easier to believe."  
  
"What's in it for me?"  
  
"I don't know. A decent wife maybe. Umm.. Your playboy image gone so your coworkers respect you. I really don't know!!!" She exclaimed.  
  
"And I should agree to this because.?" "I asked you to, Potter!!!!" She shouted. People turned and looked at her. She blushed and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear before looking back at James.  
  
"All right."  
  
"What!!" She hadn't expected him to agree that quickly. What is wrong with him?? She wondered.  
  
"I said, "all right." Look, my parents have been pressuring me to get married for a couple of months now, uphold the Potter name and all, and this is an easy way out of it," James replied.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Look Evans, do you want me to marry you or not? I said I'd do it, although we'll probably be divorced in a month or two, but that doesn't matter. We both need this."  
  
"All right, can you come by my house on Saturday to meet my parents. We have to announce this soon because I'm supposed to meet my ex-fiancée in about the next month or so, if not sooner."  
  
"Sure. Whatever."  
  
Lily gave James her address and told him to be at her house at 1:00.  
  
Saturday  
  
Lily had told her parents that James was coming by and that they were engaged. Needless to say they were a bit shocked. They were, however, looking forward to meeting their new son-in-law.  
  
"Lily!! It's 12:45!! Your fiancée will be here soon!" Her mother yelled to Lily.  
  
"Okay! Be right down!" Lily was in her room getting ready.  
  
A few minutes later, Lily walked downstairs. She had just hit the bottom step when the doorbell rang. Lily called that she would get it and went to open the door. James was outside looking at the neighbors' houses.  
  
"Hi. Come on in," Lily said in a forced cheerful tone.  
  
"So," Lily's father said from behind her. "You must be James."  
  
  
  
Sorry that's where I am going to stop. I can't write anymore and I have school tomorrow so I gotta go to bed soon sorry this is longer. Please review though! I appreciate all reviews!! Thanx! 


	3. The night the lights went out in georgia

Disclaimer: don't own it not makin money off it. I got nuttin so don't sue me PLEASE! (you'd probably lose anyway since I can argue with anyone. Lol)  
  
A/N: THANX TO ~ROWENA~ FOR THE TITLE!!. And thanx to all of you people who reviewed. I love everyone. And I'm sorry if I can't update fast because I got school and got to get work done for that and I have cheerleading practice plus no study halls so I have a lot of homework. Stupid schedule makers screwed up on my schedule last year so I have a full schedule this year and an independent class too. Anyway.. On with the story.  
  
"Y-yes, sir," James replied nervously.  
  
"James, this is my father Wesley and my mother Rose." Lily said. Her mother had come to the door shortly after she had opened it.  
  
"Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Evans," James said, still a little nervously. Lily's father was glaring at him a little. He didn't know why.  
  
"Nice to meet you, James," Lily's mother said with a smile. " I'll admit we were a little surprised when Lily told us she was engaged. We had no idea she even had a boyfriend."  
  
"Well, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing," James replied with a glance at Lily. "We knew each other at Hogwarts."  
  
"Oh! James come in and sit down," Lily said.  
  
"Yes, do dear. Would you like anything to drink? Tea? Water?" Lily's mother asked.  
  
"No, thank you," James replied. He started towards the living room, following Lily's father, Wesley and walking beside Lily. As they were walking, James slipped an arm around Lily. She glared at him with such a force that he would probably be dead if looks could kill. He just looked back at her with a look that said Hey, we're supposed to be engaged.  
  
"Sit down, you two. I'll go help Rose." Wesley left the room and Lily instantly turned to James, glaring at him.  
  
"What do you think you're doing!?" Lily hissed at him.  
  
"Hey, Evans! In case you hadn't noticed, we're supposed to be engaged. I'm just acting like any other engaged guy would. It's not like I'm enjoying it."  
  
"Just leave your hands off me, Potter."  
  
"You two can sit down, you know," Rose Evans said as she and her husband entered the room with glasses of water for Lily, her husband and herself. Lily and James sat down on the couch with James putting his arm back around Lily. He could tell this annoyed her. That's why he did it.  
  
"So James. What do you do for a living?" Wesley Evans asked  
  
"I'm an Auror, sir. I hunt dark witches and wizards."  
  
"Uh-huh. So when are you two getting married?"  
  
"Well, we haven't really talked about it. When do you think, Lily dear?"  
  
Lily glanced at him, barely keeping her annoyance off her face. He's really milking this for all it's worth, she thought. Well two can play at this! "I don't know, James darling. I was thinking perhaps a year at most."  
  
"Well that sounds great! I can't wait to be married to you and spend the rest of my life with you." At this he gave a little smirk that only Lily could see.  
  
"I was thinking perhaps a May wedding. I'd love to get married outside with all the birds singing," Lily said this while smiling sweetly at James.  
  
"Whatever you want, my love."  
  
"So James, how do your parents feel about your getting married?" Rose asked.  
  
"I just told them last night. In fact, they want to meet Lily soon," James replied with another smirk at Lily. "I was thinking maybe next Friday night."  
  
"That's fine, James dear," Lily answered him.  
  
"All right. Just use Floo Powder to get to Potter manor."  
  
"Potter Manor?" Wesley asked.  
  
"Ah, yes. My family is very prominent in the wizarding world," James said sort of sheepishly.  
  
"Oh," Wesley replied.  
  
The four chatted for another couple of hours, Lily and James loathing every minute of it, then James had to leave. He was meeting Sirius and Remus in Hogsmeade. (A/N: Peter sucks so I'm not putting him in." Lily and her parents walked James to the door, where James gave Lily a quick kiss on the cheek. He was lucky he was leaving, otherwise Lily would have killed him on the spot. "He seems like a very fine young man," Rose said after James had left.  
  
"Yes. He does. Very nice," Wesley agreed with his wife.  
  
Lily snorted in her mind but pasted a smile on her face and said, "I'm so glad you approve Mum, Dad."  
  
  
  
Okay. This is where I'm ending. Sorry this isn't longer, but I have hardly any time to write anymore. But just to answer a few questions I got in my reviews, I started school August 26th but almost every other school in the state of Wisconsin started after Labor Day. Stupid teacher contracts had us start early. My shoulders really hurt right now because I got sunburnt Saturday at Camp Randall cheering for our football team. And one of my friends keeps touching them. Anyway. I'm rambling again, so I'll go bye- bye. Thanx again for all the reviews, I feel so loved(. Please review some more! Even flames are good 'cause it lets me know how bad I am and what I need to work on so pleaz review!!!  
  
~^~Eris wannabe~^~ 


	4. How do you like me now?

Disclaimer: None of it belongs to me! I'm not making any money off of it. Don't sue me! I have almost no money and almost nothing of monetary value!  
  
A/N: There was some confusion in the last chapter. I didn't mean I was stopping with writing the fic, I just meant that chapter. I wouldn't leave all you nice people hanging. Oh and as a response to one of my reviews, yes Wisconsin has unbelievably good cheese. It's the best!( Thanx again to all my reviewers. You people are so nice. I feel so loved  
  
The morning Lily was to meet James' patents, she got up at 9:00 A.M. to get ready. She took a shower then started searching through her closet for something to wear. She wanted to look nice for his parents. At least, she wanted to look nice enough so that his parents didn't hate her, although being Potter's parents they'd probably hate her anyway.  
  
She started pulling robes out of her closet. There was something wrong with almost everyone of them. That one was too casual, this one too dressy. Another made her look pale. Yet another was too small. She finally decided on a purple robe to wear. Then she started working on her hair.  
  
She tried it in a French braid, then hanging loose, up in a ponytail, in a half-ponytail, up in a bun, and finally with just the sides twisted back and the rest hanging loose.  
  
At 12:45 she was finally ready to be going. She went downstairs to see her mother before she left.  
  
"Lily dear, you look beautiful," Her mother said as Lily walked into the kitchen.  
  
"Thanks, Mum. I want to make a good impression."  
  
"I'm sure they'll love you, Lily," her mother said to her.  
  
Yeah, I'm sure, Lily thought sarcastically. Lily helped her mother for a few minutes, then noticed it was 12:55.  
  
"Oh! I've got to go Mum. I need to be at Po- James' house by 1:00.  
  
"All right dear. Have fun," her mother said as Lily walked to the living room where the fireplace was.  
  
Yeah. Sure. This'll be about as much fun as Potions class with the Slytherins, Lily thought. She grabbed the bag of Floo Powder from the mantle and threw some onto the fire. After the flames turned green, Lily stepped into them and said, "Potter Manor" clearly. She suddenly saw fireplaces whooshing (A/N: Hey! I used an onomatopoeia!) by and stopped at one.  
  
As she stepped out of the fireplace, she saw James standing by a chair in a humongous living room.  
  
"Hello. Welcome to Potter Manor," James said dryly.  
  
"Hello," Lily replied shortly. She looked around at all the expensive furniture in the room. "Nice place."  
  
James snorted and turned away and walked toward a doorway off to the right. "Mum, Dad, Kaithlynn," Lily heard James say, "Lily's here."  
  
Lily heard a scraping of chairs and James and three other people appeared on the doorway of the living room.  
  
"Lily, this is my mother, Anna. My father, Karl. And my older sister Kaithlynn. (A/N: Pronounced Caitlin.) And this is my fiancée, Lily Evans.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Anna Potter said with a smile. She was a very attractive woman with light brown hair and blue eyes that always seemed to be laughing at something.  
  
"A pleasure to meet you too, Mrs. Potter," Lily replied.  
  
"Please, dear. Call me Anna," Lily decided that she liked Anna Potter. Potter must not have inherited anything from his mother, Lily thought.  
  
"It's nice to meet you as well, Mr. Potter, Kaithlynn," Lily said after a millisecond later.  
  
"Call me Karl," James' father said. He was an older version of James. Unruly black hair, dark brown eyes, same athletic build.  
  
"James hasn't told us much about you, Lily, so we'll be giving you the third degree," James' sister quipped. She had her mother's hair and her father's eyes and had a slim, trim build. Lily remembered her vaguely from school. She was a sixth year when Lily was in first.  
  
They're all so nice. How did Potter turn out the way he is in this family, Lily thought with amazement.  
  
"Well, why don't we all go out to the balcony. We can get to know you better, Lily," Anna suggested.  
  
The five walked out of the living room and into a spacious dining room. The first floor of my house could probably fit into this room, Lily thought. They crossed to a set of French doors, which opened to a large balcony overlooking a multiple-acre yard.  
  
They all sat down at a table with some cushioned chairs set up around it. James sat next to Lily and she resisted the urge to move her chair away.  
  
"So Lily, where are you from?" Karl asked.  
  
"Bristol. I grew up and am still living in Bristol," Lily answered.  
  
"Did you and James know each other at Hogwarts?" Anna asked.  
  
"Yes. We were in the same year and we were Head Girl and Boy together," Lily replied.  
  
"Lily was in Gryffindor, too," James spoke up.  
  
Lily took a sip of the water that was sitting in front of her. "You have a wonderful house, Anna, Karl," she said after a moment.  
  
"Why thank you, Lily," Anna replied. The talk turned to Lily and James' wedding. They made plans to get together in a month to start picking out dresses and flowers. No amount of excuses on either Lily or James' part could get them out of it. Not to say they didn't try though.  
  
After teal, Lily said that she had to get home and left after being kissed by James. She arrived home angry and went up to her room. The thoughts rolling through her head were How could he kiss me!? I know that he only did it to make it look thide we enjoyed being engaged, but still! Kissing James Potter is definitely not on my list of favorite things to do! But I've got to remember that I got myself into this mess by asking him to do this charade.  
  
Lily went to bed later that night, still mad at James. She was glad she had work on Monday and could avoid thinking about her lie of a marriage to James Potter.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Hey this is it for this chappie. Hope ya'll like it!! Please review even if it is a flame!! I'd really appreciate it! I'm going to end with a quote that was on my Chemistry classroom board: We may not have it all together, but together we have it all. 


	5. Country rock star

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it and I ain't makin' any money off of it. Please don't sue me 'cause you won't win because I can argue with anyone. (  
  
A/N: I just want to thank all you nice people who reviewed and I'm sorry that my chappies aren't longer. I've been trying to get them longer! I really have!! But anyway. I hope you enjoy!  
  
Monday  
  
Monday morning lily woke up and got ready to go to work. She pulled on a pair of light blue robes and pulled her hair back into a braid. She then apparated to the Ministry of Magic where she worked in the Department of Investigations. She saw her friend and co-worker, Michelle Farnway, grabbing a roll at a counter.  
  
"Hello Michelle," Lily called to her.  
  
"Hi Lily. Hey! Why didn't you tell me you were engaged? And to James Potter!" Michelle asked Lily.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Lily asked, bewildered.  
  
"This." Michelle shoved a copy of the Daily Prophet under Lily's nose. In it she saw a picture of her and James. A picture that James' parents had taken on Saturday when she was over at their house. 'They said they wanted it for a photo album. Ugh! I didn't want people to know this soon!' Lily thought angrily. "Why didn't you tell me?" Michelle asked again.  
  
"Umm-uh w-we weren't telling people right away," Lily stammered.  
  
"Well you shouldn't keep a thing like this from your friend."  
  
"Sorry Michelle."  
  
"It's all right. Anyway, congratulations Lily!" Michelle said as she hugged Lily.  
  
"Th-thanks."  
  
"So when's the wedding going to be?" Michelle asked.  
  
"We haven't quite decided yet. Sometime next year."  
  
"Awesome. This is really a surprise. I didn't even realize that you two were seeing each other."  
  
"Well, it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing."  
  
"Oh, well, we should start working. Congratulations again, Lily."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
This went on for the rest of the day. People offering congratulations to Lily and she accepting all the while acting like this was one of her happiest moments. Her cheeks hurt at having to smile so much and she was starting to get sick of the word "congratulations."  
  
Lily got home that night and found a letter waiting for her on her bed. She opened it and looked at the signature at the bottom. It was from James. Lily sighed and began reading.  
  
Evans, I'm going to assume that you've seen the paper and have realized what my parents did. I've been confirming that we're getting married. I would hope that you're doing the same.  
  
James  
  
Lily threw down the letter. Why wouldn't she confirm it? 'She' asked 'him' to marry her. Lily finally came to the conclusion that James was a stupid moron who didn't deserve to live.  
  
Saturday  
  
Saturday morning Lily woke up and stretched. 'Finally', she thought, 'I won't have anyone taking about me and James.' Lily was meeting her old roommates from school this afternoon for a butterbeer and some shopping.  
  
Lily cleaned and helped her mother until it was time for her to get ready. After she changed, Lily apparated in Hogsmeade. She walked to the Three Broomsticks, where she was meeting her friends. She saw them sitting at a booth in the back and walked over to them.  
  
"Hey guys. What's up?" Lily asked as she approached the table.  
  
"Hey Lily. Congratulations on you engagement. I read about it in the paper," Her friend, Liana, replied.  
  
"Ugh. Can we please talk about something else? I mean, I'm happy but I'm kind of a little sick of hearing about it," Lily said as she sat down beside another friend named Cassandra.  
  
Lily ordered a butterbeer and sat back and started talking to her friends. Liana, Cassandra, and another friend named Nataliye were all in the same year in Gryffindor. The four had kept in contact over the past year since graduating.  
  
"So how's your job going, Lily?" Nataliye asked.  
  
"Oh, there's good things and bad things. The work's interesting, but some of my co-workers suck," Lily replied, "how's yours?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"I am so glad to be off school for the weekend, "Cassandra said after a moment.  
  
"Why?" Liana asked.  
  
"Well, it's just that studying to be a doctor is sooo tiring. Some of my classes are interesting, but the homework is so much. More than we ever got in Hogwarts.," Cassandra answered.  
  
"Glad it's you and not me," Lily said with a smile.  
  
"Oh be quiet."  
  
They all laughed at that and talked a little more. Then Nataliye and Liana, who were facing the door, looked up in surprise.  
  
"Hey Lily," Liana asked, "were you supposed to meet James Potter today?"  
  
"No. Why?"  
  
"Because he just walked in with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin."  
  
Lily turned and saw James and his friends walking toward a booth. Remus nudged James and said something to him. James then looked in Lily's direction and his mouth dropped into a kind of "Oh" expression. She turned away quickly and thought, 'Uh-oh. What on earth is *he* doing here?'  
  
James had similar thoughts in his head, but his were more, shall we say "expressive," than Lily's.  
  
James, Sirius, and Remus approached the table where Lily, Liana, Nataliye, and Cassandra were sitting. James reached down and pulled Lily up to him and kissed her cheek.  
  
"Hello my love," James said, "I didn't know you were coming here today."  
  
"I'm just out with my friends, dear," Lily said in a sugary voice. She was acting just as much as James was. "You remember them, don't you, James? They were in our year." Lily knew that James remembered the many pranks that he had played on the four girls in school. This was part of the reason why Lily and James disliked each other. Lily was one of the few people who yelled at James and played pranks back on him.  
  
"Of course I remember them, Lily," James said.  
  
"Why don't you all sit with us," Nataliye said.  
  
"Thanks," the three men spoke up one after another.  
  
Remus slid in the booth next to Liana and Nataliye and James sat next to Lily. Sirius pulled a chair over from another table and sat backwards in it at the end of the table. A waitress came over and took the three men's orders and left. James put an arm around Lily and she stiffened, but then relaxed, remembering that they were supposed to be engaged. She didn't like it, but she'd do anything to avoid marrying Severus Snape.  
  
"So what are you girls up to today?" Remus asked.  
  
"Well, after we finish our drinks, we're going shopping," Cassandra replied.  
  
"Ah. So what are you all doing now that you've graduated?" questioned Remus.  
  
"I'm going to college to be a doctor. I want to work at St. Mungo's," Cassandra answered him with a smile. Lily always knew that Cassandra liked Remus Lupin, in spite of all the pranks he had helped play on the girls.  
  
"I'm working at the Ministry in the Department of Magical Games and Sports," Liana said. She had been on the Quidditch team at school and enjoyed her work immensely.  
  
"I'm working in the Department of Muggle Affairs," chimed Nataliye. She was a muggle-born, like Lily, and so worked well with muggles.  
  
"What do you all do?" asked Liana.  
  
"We're all aurors," James answered her. The seven talked for a few more minutes, then the girls said that they had to go. They paid for their drinks, said good-bye to the guys, and left, after Lily and James exchanged a quick kiss.  
  
The four girls walked down the street towards a robe shop. They walked in and immediately began trying on robes and gossiping. Lily carefully kept the subjects away from her wedding to James. That was one topic that she did not want to discuss. Lily and James had probably talked more today than they had in all their years at Hogwarts, which didn't say much about how their marriage was going to go.  
  
The girls went into several other shops after the robe shop, after which they all disapparated home. Lily showed her mother what she had gotten while out shopping and then went up to her room. She was thinking about James' behavior as she lay on her bed staring at her ceiling. She was thinking that James was an excellent actor. No one looking at them would be able to tell that they hated each other.  
  
Lily hated the thought of lying to her parents by pretending that she was in love with James Potter. But she had to pretend or face a really bad alternative. Lily cringed as she thought of her and James' marriage. 'It's probably going to be fighting all the time,' she thought with dismay. 'And then we'll have to go out and pretend that we're happily married.'  
  
Lily started remembering James' actions back in school. For some reason, James hated her from the moment he saw her. He played so many pranks on her, such as feeding her owl a Filibuster Firework, and causing all of her homework to disappear. And he "always" made her look bad in Transfiguration.  
  
Now, she was marrying him. Almost nothing could be worse in her mind. "Ugh," she said as she turned over, "Potter, why do you have to mess up my life so bad?" 


	6. 10 rounds with Jose Cuervo

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it, I'm not makin' any money off of it, don't sue me 'cause you won't win. I can argue with anyone. And even if you did win, you wouldn't be gettin' much 'cause all I really own are my books, and not even all them and so I won't let you have them, not after I probably have over a hundred dollars in star trek books and over fifty-five in Harry Potter books. So there!!  
  
A/N: Just want to say thanx to all you people who reviewed. I feel so loved!!! I hope this chappie is even longer than the last one. That one was the longest yet!!! I'm so proud of myself. Hey just a quick question: Can I join anyone else's cheerleading squad. The people on mine suck. Not as cheerleaders, but as people. Pleaz let me know if I can join yours. J/K.  
  
The next month: December  
  
Lily twisted her engagement ring around her finger. James had given it to her a few weeks ago. He had said that it would make them look like they were actually engaged. She remembered their entire conversation.  
  
"Look Potter, I'm *not* going to take this ring," Lily said vehemently.  
  
"Hey! You want people to believe we're engaged or not?" he replied.  
  
"I'm not going to take it."  
  
"Yes you are. My parents already think it's strange that I haven't gotten you a ring already," James said.  
  
"That's you problem, not mine, Potter."  
  
"Hey remember, I didn't ask you to marry me. *You* asked *me."  
  
"Ugh! Potter, you're impossible," Lily exclaimed.  
  
"Well, so are you!"  
  
They had argued like this for a few more minutes, It had ended with Lily saying she'd take the ring.  
  
"Fine, Potter, you win. I'll take the ring. We *do* actually want this engagement to be believable after all," Lily acceded.  
  
"Good. Now about our wedding. We need to set a date. Mum wants to send out invitations by about March," James said.  
  
"Great. What fun," Lily said sarcastically. James just glared at her. "Fine. Umm, we agreed on June, right?" James nodded. "So what about June 4th?"  
  
"Fine. Sound fine," James answered. "I'll tell my parents."  
  
"And I'll tell mine," Lily said. She turned to walk away, but stopped as James grabbed her arm and turned her around.  
  
"Just remember Evans," James said, "We have to act like a happily engaged couple. That means that we will both have to do things that we find repulsive. We'll just have to grin and bear it." With that statement, he let go of Lily's arm and walked away to go somewhere else.  
  
Lily's thoughts returned to the present. She kept replaying the last part of their conversation, but didn't know why the last two sentences bothered her so much. It was just great that he found her so unappealing, she was thinking. Not that she wanted to be thought attractive by James Potter.  
  
Lily sighed and headed downstairs. Her mother and she were heading to Hogsmeade to meet James' mother, Anna, and his sister, Kaithlynn to start preparing for the wedding. She had already acquired a portkey for her mother and her.  
  
Lily came into the kitchen and sat down at the table. She grabbed a couple of pieces of toast and began eating. Her mother was sitting across from her, eating breakfast also.  
  
"What's this place we're going to again?" Rose Evans asked.  
  
"Hogsmeade, Mum. It's a wizarding village," Lily replied.  
  
"That's right. We're meeting the Potters there too right?"  
  
"Yes. We're meeting James' mother and sister, then we're meeting James later," Lily answered her.  
  
"Well then, we'd better hurry if we want to meet them in time."  
  
Lily and Rose finished their breakfast and went to get the portkey. They both grabbed a section of the portkey and felt a tug as it pulled them into Hogsmeade. They felt a little disoriented, but that quickly cleared up. They turned around and saw Anna and Kaithlynn Potter heading towards them.  
  
"Hello Anna, Kaithlynn," Lily greeted them, " This is my mother Rose. Mum, this is James' mother Anna and his sister Kaithlynn."  
  
They exchanged niceties all around. Kaithlynn then asked, "Well, where should we go first?"  
  
"Oh there's a bridal shop down the street. Lily can get her dresses there," Anna said.  
  
"Sounds fine," Lily said. They all walked down the street and headed into the shop where they were greeted by a cheerful-looking witch.  
  
"Hello all," The witch said. "Are you looking for bridal dresses?" she asked.  
  
"Bridesmaid dresses and a wedding dress," Lily answered.  
  
"All right. Which of you is the bride?" the witch asked.  
  
"I am," Lily said.  
  
"All right. We'll start with you first,: the witch said. The witch told Lily to get up on a stool and Lily did so. The witch then pointed her wand at Lily, muttered a few words, and suddenly, a dress appeared on Lily.  
  
"Well, what do you think?" The witch asked.  
  
"I don't think that it looks right on you," Kaithlynn said.  
  
"I agree," replied Lily.  
  
This went on for quite a while. There was just something wrong with every dress. While they were going through all this, Lily turned to Kaithlynn.  
  
"Kaithlynn, I'd like you to be my maid of honor," Lily said.  
  
"What! M-me? Why? I thought you had a sister. Don't you want to ask her to be your maid of honor?" Kaithlynn asked dumbfounded.  
  
"My sister and her husband probably won't even come to the wedding," Lily replied darkly. "They don't like magic much and they reacted very badly when I told them I was marrying a wizard."  
  
"But surely you have friends you'd like to ask," Kaithlynn said.  
  
"Kaithlynn, I really want you to be my maid of honor,: Lily replied. She honestly liked Kaithlynn Potter, which she found surprising, considering the fact that she was a Potter, and wanted her to be her maid of honor. She was going to have Nayaliye be a regular bridesmaid. Nataliye couldn't be there today, but they had a magical way to take her measurements and were going to pick out the bridesmaid dresses today anyway.  
  
"All right Lily. I'll do it," Kaithlynn said.  
  
"Great!" Lily said, smiling.  
  
After about an hour and a half of trying on dresses, Lily finally found one that she liked. It was an off-the-shoulder white dress with beads across the top and along the hem. Then they started on the bridesmaids' dresses. They spent about a half of an hour trying to pick out a dress. They finally picked out one, well two actually, that was a pale purple in color and was strapless. They made it to fit Kaithlynn and Nataliye's measurements.  
  
They paid for the dresses and headed out of the shop after thanking the saleswitch. They walked around Hogsmeade for about an hour, showing Lily's mother all the sights in Hogsmeade. After that, they went into a restaurant and got to know each other better as they ate. After they left, they headed to a flower shop, where they were meeting James to pick out flowers for the wedding.  
  
As they walked into the flower shop, they were bombarded with the scent of literally hundreds of kinds of flowers. They spotted James in the back of the flower shop, looking decidedly uncomfortable. As they walked towards him, gingerly avoiding the flowers and pots on the floor, they saw a young-looking wizard heading towards them as well.  
  
"Ah, hello. I'm Dean. Can I help you look for something?" The wizard asked them.  
  
"Yes you may," Anna Potter said pleasantly. "We're looking for wedding flowers."  
  
"Ah. So you'll need a bridal bouquet, flowers for the place of the wedding, bridesmaid bouquets, boutonnières for the groom and best man and ushers, and flowers for the reception hall. I'm just guessing here, so help me if it isn't what you need or want."  
  
"Um. I think that'll be fine." Rose Evans said.  
  
"Well, if you'll come with me, I'll show you some of our more popular flowers."  
  
As they walked to a wall on the right-hand side of the shop, Dean was telling them about some kinds of flowers that they had.  
  
"We've got bouquets that change color and scent with the holder's mood, flowers that sing, flowers that dance, flowers that rearrange themselves into different arrangements on their own, and of course, just some plain Muggle flowers," Dean said.  
  
"Well, remember, my family will be there and not a lot of them know that I'm a witch, so just to be safe, we should probably just have Muggle flowers," Lily said.  
  
"Well then, that kind of limits our choices, but we'll have to work with it," Anna said.  
  
"Well then have a look at these," Dean said, picking up some flowers and showing them to them all.  
  
James and Lily looked at each other with raised eyebrow at some of Dean's color choices. They decided against neon orange and yellow bridesmaid bouquets, electric green boutonnières, and other hideous choices. When Dean had found out Lily's name, he started suggesting different types of lilies to them, especially tiger lilies, for some reason.  
  
After they had decided on some nice, pleasant colored flowers, they left the shop to all go home. The Potters all walked Lily and her mother to where they had left their portkey. Kaithlynn, Anna, and Rose walked ahead of Lily and James, which left the two enemies to try and get along with each other. James kept his arm around Lily the whole time. She glared at him a few times, but he just looked pointedly back at her.  
  
"So," James began, "This wedding's coming closer, isn't it."  
  
"Yeah," Lily said dully.  
  
"Nice to see you're wearing your engagement ring, at least"  
  
"Like I had a choice."  
  
"You can always back out, you know."  
  
"What! Don't tell me you don't want to do this anymore. NOT after all we've done so far," Lily started in on James.  
  
"No, I figure we might as well keep on going with this mockery to the end," James said without much feeling.  
  
By this time, they had reached the portkey. Lily and her mother grabbed it and appeared at home. Lily tried to keep her mind off James as she headed to her room and flopped onto her bed. She did *not* want to think of him at all. 


	7. You might be a Redneck if

Disclaimer: Don't own it, not makin' money off it. Don't sue 'cause all I have is 4 cents right now, so you won't be gettin' much.  
  
A/N: Okay I just want to say thanx to everyone who reviewed. *Gives everyone who has reviewed great big hugs. Gives Ryan's Brookie an extra hug, then slaps her upside the head for the comment about Pasold.* This is a short chapter, more or less just filler chapter, so it probably sucks.  
  
*March*  
  
Lily woke up one morning to see the sun shining through her window. "Ugh," she groaned. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and got up. She stretched, and then remembered what she was doing today.  
  
"Oh no," she said aloud. She had suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be having lunch with James' family, her family, and her and James' friends. Surprisingly, her sister, Petunia, and brother-in-law, Vernon, were going to be at the lunch as well.  
  
Lily went over to the closet and started pulling out clothes, all the shile muttering curses under her breath. They were going to a Muggle restaurant, so robes were out of the question. She sincerely hoped that Nataliye, Sirius, Remus, and James and his family wouldn't wear something *too* outlandish.  
  
Lily went downstairs after picking an outfit to see her parents. They were sitting in the living room, watching the television.  
  
"'Morning Lily, dear," Rose said. "'Morning Mum."  
  
"We're going to leave at 11:00, in order to be in London at 12:30. (A/N: I don't know the distances so I'm just makin' 'em up.) I hope you can be ready by then."  
  
"Yeah. I'll be ready. I've got my clothes picked out, so all I've got to do is my hair makeup and get dressed."  
  
"Fine dear."  
  
Lily watched the television with her parents for about an hour, then went up to her room to change. She pulled on a pair of black stretch pants and a short-sleeved lavender top. After she did her hair and makeup, she went downstairs to find her parents already waiting for her.  
  
They headed out to the car and headed off to London. Lily occupied the car ride by reading a wizard novel. After an hour and a half of driving, they arrived at the restaurant. They walked in and were shown their table. Everyone else was already there. James stood and gave Lily a quick kiss before he pulled out her chair for her.  
  
The introductions were made for those who didn't know each other. Vernon and Petunia looked disgusted at having to dine with "freaks."  
  
"So Lily, *this* is who you're planning on marrying?" Petunia said as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. James glanced at Lily before turning away, blushing.  
  
"Yes Petunia. He *is*," Lily said, coldly.  
  
"Hmm. *Interesting*," Petunia replied.  
  
"Girls," Rose warned quietly. Sirius and Remus looked at each other, then at Petunia.  
  
"So," Kaithlynn Potter said. "How long have you and Vernon been married, Petunia?" She was trying to ease the tension at the table.  
  
"Around three years," Petunia said, coldly. Kaithlynn visibly winced at Petunia's tone.  
  
"Well, this is certainly fun," Sirius said in a sarcastic undertone. "Ouch!" he cried as he felt Nataliye, who was sitting across from him, kick him hard in the shin with her heels.  
  
There was an uneasy silence in the air. Glares kept being exchanged between Petunia and Lily, with James glancing between the two.  
  
A waitress came over and took everyone's order. After she left, Anna Potter got up and headed for the bathroom. After Anna came back, Petunia started in on Lily.  
  
"So Lily, how's that freak job of yours going?" Lily glared at her from across the table.  
  
"Fine," Lily replied, calmly. "How's yours going? Oh wait, that's right. Vernon won't let you work, will he?" Lily knew that Petunia was very sensitive about the fact that Vernon wouldn't let her work.  
  
"All right you little freak," Petunia began. She was extremely angry.  
  
"Girls!" Rose interrupted. "Can't you two get along for one afternoon?"  
  
"Forget it. We're leaving. Come on Vernon. I for one don't want to sit with these freaks any longer," Petunia stated as she stood up to leave.  
  
Petunia and Vernon left, with everyone at the table staring at them in shock.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry about that," Rose started.  
  
"Oh. Don't worry about it. I hope you don't mind me saying, but they're the kind of people who give Muggles a bad name," Anna said.  
  
"*That's* your sister, Lily? No wonder you never liked her much," Nataliye said.  
  
"If you all will excuse me," Lily said as she got up. "I'll be back in a minute." With that, Lily walked to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face. She couldn't believe that that scene had happened out there. And in front of James Potter!  
  
After Lily was sufficiently calmed down, she went back out to the table and tried to look like she was having a good time, which was especially trying since the incident with Petunia was fresh in everyone's mind and she had to pretend to be in love with James.  
  
After a fairly pleasant dinner, everybody went home. They all had mixed feelings about how the dinner went. Of course, the people who were least pleased were James and Lily. Both of them hoped that from now until the wedding, they could avoid each other. Both knew that *that* was unlikely to happen, but kept hoping anyway.  
  
  
  
Well there it is!! Hope it wasn't too boring. And this is just a filler chappie neway. The next chappie will be the morning of the wedding, so stay tuned and please review! All are appreciated. 


	8. When you lie next to me

Disclaimer: Let's see. Do I own it yet? *Looks around room for the rights to "Harry Potter." Doesn't find them.* Nope, guess I don't own it. So I guess I'm not makin' any money off it.  
  
  
  
A/N: Again, big thanx to all who reviewed. Just to tell y'all, I am sooooo happy that I'm on two people's favorites lists. Yea me! I'll probably look over suggestions and maybe change things when I'm completely done with the story, so don't feel like your suggestions are being ignored, 'cause they aren't. And sorry if I'm not updating fast enough, I've really got a lot to do with everything I'm involved in. So. let's not keep you waiting any longer. Here's the story.  
  
June 4th: The Wedding Day  
  
Lily woke up on the morning of June 4th with a feeling of dread inside her. To day was her wedding day, but it wasn't a happy occasion. She was marrying, in her opinion, the biggest jerk on the face of the earth. She buried her head in her pillow, trying to will herself back to sleep so that she wouldn't have to face the day.  
  
Lily heard her mother come up the stairs. "Lily? Are you awake yet?" Rose called as she came into Lily's bare room. Almost all of Lily's things had been moved to the apartment where Lily and James were going to live.  
  
"Yes Mum. I just got up," Lily replied from her pillow.  
  
"Well hurry and get up. It's 7:30 already. Nataliye, Kaithlynn, and you all have hair and make-up appointments at 9:00. We need to hurry if we're going to make it to London in time."  
  
"All right. I'm getting up. I *am*," Lily said as she threw back the covers. She got up and pulled on a pair of loose pants and a T-shirt. Her mother had already gone out and started the car. Lily groaned and started downstairs. She wished that time would stop so she wouldn't have to go to her wedding.  
  
As she got into the car, her mother turned toward her. "Nervous, dear?" she asked.  
  
"A little," replied Lily. *Although not for the reason you think,* Lily thought to herself.  
  
"That's normal, dear. It's just pre-wedding jitters," her mother said. After that, the car ride was spent mostly in silence, with Lily staring out the window.  
  
They arrived at the hairdresser in London. When they walked in, they saw Anna and Kaithlynn Potter, and Nataliye waiting for them.  
  
"Oh good," Anna said. "Now we can get started. Who wants to go first?"  
  
"Definitely not me," said Lily. "I need to get some coffee. I'll be back in a minute."  
  
"All right then. Nataliye, how about you first?"  
  
As the beauticians started working on Nataliye, Lily slipped out the door to go get her coffee. As she walked down the street, she remembered that she was supposed to be the happy bride. Which meant that she had to endure everything with a smile and try not to blow up at anybody.  
  
It took 15 minutes for Lily to get her coffee. After that, she headed back to the hairdressers. When she walked in, she noticed that the beauticians had already done a terrific job an Nataliye's hair. It was up in a French twist with some hair hanging over the top that was being curled.  
  
Lily sat down in a chair and kept watching the beauticians work on Nataliye's hair while sipping her coffee. After Nataliye's hair was curled, little violet flowers were placed all around in her hair. It took a while to arrange the flowers to the beauticians' liking. After they had gotten her hair done, they went to work on Nataliye's make-up. That took about a half-hour, so by the time they were finished with Nataliye, it was already 10:15. Then it was Kaithlynn's turn. They arranged her hair and make-up the same way Nataliye's was, and with Kaithlynn's black hair, it looked great. By then it was 11:30.  
  
Finally, it was Lily's turn. They tackled her hair first. They curled the red tresses into tight spiral curls. Then they pinned it up with several curls hanging loose. The ones pinned up were not completely pinned down. (A/N: Did that make any sense?) They were kind of loosely, but securely pinned up. Instead of purple flowers in Lily's hair, white ones were placed in it. Then Lily's makeup was started. Silver eye-shadow, silver-tinged mascara, and black eyeliner were used to enhance Lily's eyes. Lily's nails were painted, and blush was put on her cheeks. All this took until 1:00. Then, she bought a tube of lipstick to use after lunch.  
  
After they paid and left, Anna, Kaithlynn, and Nataliye disapparated and Lily and her mother drove to a Muggle restaurant for some lunch. After they fininshed eating, with Lily hardly eating anything, they drove to the wedding chapel. They arrived there at 1:30 to find flowers all around and Anna, Kaithlynn, and Nataliye trying to put them where they belonged. Lily's father, Wesley, and James' father, Karl, were standing around, looking lost.  
  
Lily and her mother started helping out with the flowers. Lily was in the middle of arranging a bunch of flowers near the front of the chapel when Kaithlynn came running up to her.  
  
"Lily! It's 2:00! We've only got and hour to get ready!"  
  
"What! I didn't think it was that late!" Lily exclaimed. She, Kaithlynn, and Nataliye went into the dressing room while Anna and Rose went to go get changed somewhere else.  
  
First, Nataliye and Kaithlynn got ready. They pulled on their dresses and shoes. Then they helped Lily get ready. Lily sat down at a table with a mirror to apply her lipstick. All the getting dresses on and checking hair and makeup took until 2:30.  
  
"Hey Lily? Quick question," Nataliye started. "Where are the bouquets at?"  
  
"They're right he-," Lily said as she pointed beside her. "Or not," she finished lamely.  
  
"Oh great! Now we've lost the bouquets!" (A/N: Oh no! Whatever will they do?) Kaithlynn exclaimed.  
  
"We'll go out and look for them, Lily. You stay here remember, it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding," Nataliye said, passing Lily. Lily smiled slightly at that. *Bad luck? I'm really not worried about bad luck. Isn't entering into a loveless marriage bad luck enough?* Lily thought as she sat staring at her reflection.  
  
After 15 minutes, Kaithlynn and Nataliye came back with three bouquets. They had just sorted out who's was who's when Kaithlynn said, "Oh Lily, James arrived at about 2:30 with Sirius and Remus."  
  
Lily managed to give another small smile. Lily couldn't help but wish that James hadn't shown up at all. That he had decided to back out at the last minute.  
  
The time passed all too quickly for Lily. She kept hoping time would slow down so that she wouldn't have to go through with the wedding.  
  
Lily's mother and father came in. "Lily, it's time. Everyone is ready," Wesley said.  
  
"Okay," Lily replied, drawing in a breath to calm herself. After everyone was in their places and Nataliye and Kaithlynn had started out, Lily had time for one last though before the bridal march started. *Well, time to go meet my doom.*  
  
  
  
Well that's where I'm ending this chappie. Hope y'all enjoyed it. Pleaz review I live off your reviews. Click that little button. Ya know you want to. 


	9. How do I live

Disclaimer: Okay, after looking through my whole house for the rights to Harry Potter and I can't find 'em. I guess that means that I don't own it. *tear* So I guess I'm not makin' money off it. Soo. to recap: I don't own it and I'm not makin' money off it.  
  
A/N: Again, thanx for all the reviews. I love hearing what you think. Hey! I'm very pleased with myself! I've updated 3 times this month. YEA ME!!!!!!!!  
  
Still June 4th  
  
As Lily appeared, everyone stood up and turned. As she walked slowly, she kept her eyes focused ahead, with a small smile that was painfully kept on her face.  
  
Lily finally approached the front of the chapel. James took her hand and have her a small smile as they turned to the front.  
  
The ceremony started. As the dialogue was said, Lily's thoughts were reeling. *Why on earth am I marrying James Potter? Oh yeah. To keep me from having to marry Snape. Oh dear, I can't do this. I can't marry someone I don't love. I'm not ready to be married. I only just turned 20. I don't want to fall in love! I'm not ready!*  
  
Suddenly, some words interrupted her little inner tirade.  
  
"Do you, Lily Sayna Evans, take James Marcus Potter to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, 'til death do you part?"  
  
"I-I do," Lily said. She listened as James said his vows. He didn't falter like she did.  
  
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."  
  
James leaned over as Lily handed her bouquet to Kaithlynn. After they kissed, they turned to walk down the aisle. They both pasted false smiles on their faces as they walked hand in hand out to the limousine that would take them to the reception.  
  
As they walked out of the chapel, they had birdseed thrown on them. They started running down the steps toward the limo. James opened the door to the limo for Lily and got in after her. As they drove off, Lily heard James let out a sigh.  
  
"What's the matter with you?" Lily asked quizzically.  
  
"Nothing. I just can't believe we went through with it."  
  
"What? You can't believe you let yourself stoop so low as to marry a muggle- born.?" Lily asked bitterly  
  
"Whatever you want to believe, Evans."  
  
"In case you've forgotten, *James,* my name is Lily *Potter* now."  
  
"Yes *Lily, dear,*" James replied, emphasizing the "dear" part.  
  
"What the heck is that tone for!" Lily asked.  
  
"What tone? I don't have any *tone.* If I had a tone, you would know it," James was almost shouting now.  
  
"The tone you have right now!" Lily's volume now matched James'. "You can't even have a simple conversation without getting some kind of superior attitude!"  
  
"Great. You know what? We haven't been married ten minutes and we're already fighting," James said/yelled.  
  
"Well it's not *my* fault!"  
  
"You're the one that keeps yelling!"  
  
"Me! What? You're- never mind. Let's just drop it and *try* to act like civilized adults," Lily said, exasperatedly.  
  
"Fine."  
  
Lily and James sat in silence for the rest of the ride, not looking at each other.  
  
As they stopped at the building where the reception was being held, James turned to Lily and said, "Remember Lily, dear, act like a happily married couple would."  
  
"Of course." Lily couldn't fathom why James kept calling her "Lily dear." For some reason, it seemed to be his favorite form of endearment for her.  
  
James opened the door, got out, and gave Lily his hand. She took it and got out of the limo. James' arm went around her waist as they started toward the doors.  
  
As they walked in, to thunderous applause, they both projected the image of a young couple in love. Inside, however, both were fighting the urge to run away.  
  
"Well I never thought I'd see the day," a voice said behind them. They turned and saw Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall, both dressed as muggles, standing there. "The day you two would stop fighting and realize you were made for each other," Albus said this with a huge grin on his face.  
  
"Hello Professors," Lily said. "I guess we both just realized that we were in love with each other and that we should stop trying to fight it. Isn't that right, James darling?"  
  
"Yes, Lily dear."  
  
"Well, we were certainly surprised when we saw your engagement notice in the "Daily Prophet,"" Minerva said.  
  
James and Lily walked around, chatting to some other people for a while. After that, it was time for dinner.  
  
Lily and James took their places at the head table, along with the wedding party and their parents. They got their food and began eating. After they had eaten, it was time to cut the cake.  
  
Lily took the knife handle and felt James place his hand over hers. She looked up at James and both smiled, or at least it looked like they were smiling at each other to the crowd. In reality, however, they were smirking at each other.  
  
After they had cut through the cake, they each took a piece and fed it to one another. They smiled and laughed, all the while keeping in their roles.  
  
After that, it was time for the dancing to start. James led Lily onto the dance floor. He wrapped his arms around Lily's waist as the music started. As Lily put her arms around his neck, he leaned down and hissed in her ear, "You can at least *look* like you're enjoying this."  
  
"Of course, darling," Lily smiled sweetly at him. James simply smiled back at her. They started moving with the music.  
  
"I must say, your muggle relatives are *interesting,* to say the least," James said a moment later.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean? What's wrong with my relatives?" Lily said angrily. She laid her head on James' shoulder to keep it from being obvious that they were fighting.  
  
"*Nothing!* Just stop being so defensive. I've never been around a lot of muggles before," James said.  
  
"Well that's obvious."  
  
They danced in silence for the rest of the song. After the first song was over, Lily's father cut in to dance with her. James went to find his sister to dance with her.  
  
Finally, the dreadful night was over. Almost everybody had gone home and Lily and James had changed into robes. The only people left were their immediate family and close friends.  
  
They exchanged hugs all around, then James and Lily prepared to disapparate for their honeymoon. Just before they disapparated, Sirius called out to them, "Have fun you two kids. Don't get into any trouble now!"  
  
Remus slapped Sirius upside the head as everybody laughed. James and Lily disapparated, then apparated on a tropical island. They turned as they heard a voice behind them.  
  
"Hello. Welcome to Tropicana Resort. And who might you two be?"  
  
  
  
Okay. That's where I'm stopping for this chappie. You'll get the next chapter sometime in January, hopefully before my exams start. I have exams both days, plus a basketball game that I have to cheer for and a wrestling meet that I have to play band for on those two nights, so there will definitely be NO updating for, like, that whole week. Well, again please review. I love all reviews, flames, constructive criticism, people telling me that they liked my story. So PLEASE review!  
  
~^~Eris wannabe~^~ 


	10. Impossible

Disclaimer: Alright, let's go through this again. I don't own it and am not makin' money off it. Pleaz don't sue me. I am so broke, it ain't funny.  
  
A/N: Okay here's the next chapter for a while. I personally think that this chappie sucks, but, hey, ya never know. Again, thanx to all who reviewed. I love all your reviews. One more thing to say. I got added to another person's "favorites" list! Yea!!  
  
Still June 4th  
  
James replied to the wizard, "We're James and Lily Potter. We have reservations made.  
  
The wizard said, "Ah yes. Let me get my parchment here." He snapped his fingers, and a slip of parchment appeared out of thin air. "Here you are. 'James and Lily Potter. Honeymoon suite.' I'll get a house-elf to take your bags up. Follow me and I'll show you to your suite."  
  
The three made their way up a staircase to a door. The wizard opened the door and James and Lily saw a beautifully decorated set of rooms with a balcony that had curtains blowing in the breeze.  
  
"Well, here you are. I hope your stay is enjoyable," the wizard said as he turned to leave.  
  
"Thank you," James and Lily said.  
  
Once they were alone, both were a little uncertain as to what to do next. Lily decided that she was going to go unpack her things.  
  
Lily went into the bedroom and saw that a house-elf had already brought their bags up. She sorted through the suitcases until she found hers. She figured she'd let James put his own things away. She was *not* going to play maid to him.  
  
After Lily had put her clothes away, she went back out into the main room of the suite. She didn't see James anywhere. Wait! Why would she care? It was nicer without him. She walked a few more steps forward, then she spotted James on the balcony, looking at the night sky. He was leaning against the rail, his black hair being ruffled by the breeze.  
  
She made a noise of disgust under her breath. She went to the nearest chair and threw herself in it with her legs hanging over one side.  
  
Lily saw James come back in and pointedly ignored him.  
  
"What's the matter Lily?" she heard James say. "Thinking that maybe if you pretend I'm not here, I'll go away? Sorry to disappoint you, Lily dear, but you're stuck with me 'til death do we part.'"  
  
Lily finally turned to glare at James. Without speaking to him, she got up from the chair and went into the bedroom. She got changed into sleeping pants and a tank top and crawled into bed.  
  
James, who was still in the main room, said to himself, "This is going to be a long week." With that, James also went into the bedroom, changed, and climbed into bed next to Lily. He thought to himself, *At least when we get back we can avoid each other more.*  
  
* * * 2 weeks later * * *  
  
After James and Lily returned from their honeymoon, they quickly settled into a routine. They both got up at 6:30. James took a shower while Lily got their breakfast ready. After James was done, Lily took a shower. An owl delivered the "Daily Prophet" every morning, and they read that while they had breakfast.  
  
After they got through with breakfast and had gotten dressed, they disapparated to their offices at around 7:45.  
  
On Lily's first day back to her job, 2 weeks since her wedding, and 1 week since they returned from their honeymoon, she arrived to find that her office was in a hectic time. Lily got shoved right into the thick of it.  
  
"Oh Lily! Thank goodness you're back!" her co-worker, Guinivere Bryant, said as Lily appeared.  
  
"What's wrong?" Lily asked.  
  
"Oh. That dark wizard who's got some followers, he's started killing muggle- borns. A bunch of us are meeting a group of Aurors to decide how to handle the situation. Mr. Valancy wants you to be there."  
  
"You could've owled me. I would've come in if you needed me."  
  
"We weren't going to call you away from your honeymoon."  
  
*I wish you would have.* "What time is this meeting?" Lily asked.  
  
"8:30. Mr. Valancy wants us all to meet in his office beforehand."  
  
"Alright, I'll be there."  
  
At 8:20, Lily decided to head to her boss, Mr. Valancy's office. She arrived to find 5 other Investigators were there.  
  
"Ah Lily," Mr. Valancy said. "Glad you're here. I hope your trip was alright?" Lily nodded. "Well then, let's get on with business." Mr. Valancy went on to repeat what Guinivere had said earlier.  
  
After they apparated to a conference room, they met the Aurors that they were going to be working with. To Lily's surprise, James was in the group, along with Sirius Black. From the expressions on James and Sirius' faces, they were surprised to see her as well.  
  
Mr. Valancy started off the meeting. "Let me introduce my staff. These are Guinivere Bryant, Colton Davies, Brandon Richardson, Ares Fraltar, Atalanta Croft, and Lily Ev- Lily Potter. And I'm Joseph Valancy."  
  
After the Aurors were introduced, the talk turned to how to find out who were followers of the dark wizard named Voldemort.  
  
The talk got off to a rocky start. The Aurors were all in favor of just hunting down and imprisoning or killing possible followers. The Investigators wanted to take a subtler approach, such s background checks or shadowing suspects.  
  
"We can't just go around taking anyone who looks suspicious to Azkaban," Lily was saying.  
  
"Well why not," James replied. "It's better to safe than sorry. You should be one to appreciate this method. You're a muggle-born. They could come for you next."  
  
"*I* can take care of myself. But what about the innocent people who would no doubt suffer because of this method."  
  
"Lily, we need affirmative action."  
  
This little conversation escalated into a huge fight between the two groups, with James and Lily as the leaders. After everyone had cooled off, the meeting broke up. Lily and James sot a few withering glares at each other before they left, each planning on yelling at each other when they got home.  
  
  
  
Okay, that's it for this chappie. I know it probably sucks but pleaz tell me what you think. Oh! And "Happy Birthday to BeCkY. This chapter is your birthday present from me. Have a fantabulous bday. 


	11. Brokenheartsville

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Not makin' money off it. Hate these things. Ba- bye.  
  
A/N: I am SOOOOO sorry that it took me so long to get this up. I have been really busy. I had exams in January, basketball games all through February or March, I had solo and ensemble to prepare for, I just started my job. I hope this chappie is worth the wait. Well on with the story. I'll stop babbling now.  
  
2 months later * * *  
  
Lily had just apparated home. She sighed, thinking about another meeting she had had with the Aurors. Each of the Investigators had been paired with one Auror. With Lily's bad luck, she had been paired with James.  
  
This meeting was more or less like any other, James and Lily trying to be civil to each other while wanting to jump down each other's throats. The two months that they had been married had done nothing to curb their hatred for each other.  
  
The Potters were having Sirius Black and Atalanta Croft, who were paired together also, over for dinner to discuss how to handle the Voldemort situation. This meant that Lily had to make an entire supper before 6:00.  
  
Lily heard a small *pop* (A/N: Onomatopoeia!!) behind her and turned to se James standing there. Apparently, he had just apparated.  
  
"You know Lily, you don't have to disagree with everything I say in those meeting," he said.  
  
"It's only when you're wrong that I disagree with you. It's not my fault that you're wrong all the time," Lily replied.  
  
"If you would give me a chance to explain myself, instead of just jumping down my throat-!"  
  
"I don't jump down your throat!"  
  
"You're doing it right now!"  
  
"Well, maybe if you wouldn't come home and start yelling at me, maybe I wouldn't yell at *you*!"  
  
"Why the heck are you being so difficult? It's hard enough as it is pretending that I am actually in love with you without having to constantly fight with you."  
  
"Just shut up, okay? Nobody forced you into this. Why do you have to complain all the time?"  
  
Nobody forced me into this? You practically got on you knees and begged me to marry you!"  
  
James and Lily were now shouting at the tops of their lungs. All of a sudden, an owl came in and dropped a letter on the table and flew away again.  
  
James and Lily stopped their fight to look at the letter. It was from Sirius and Atalanta.  
  
James and Lily,  
  
Sorry we have to cancel on such short notice, but something's come up and we can't make it to dinner.  
  
Sorry,  
  
Sirius and Atalanta  
  
"Well, I guess that you don't have to get stuck making dinner then."  
  
"Just shut up."  
  
Just then, another letter by owl came in. Lily and James picked this one up and read it.  
  
To Lily and James Potter,  
  
I request you presence at a meeting I am having. This is very urgent. Apparate to Hogsmeade, and then head up to the school. This is of the utmost secrecy.  
  
Albus Dumbeldore  
  
James and Lily looked at each other.  
  
"Well, you reckon we should head up there?" James asked.  
  
"Probably," Lily replied. The letter had sounded extremely urgent and had cause Lily and James to forget about fighting for the moment.  
  
Lily and James apparated to Hogsmeade, then walked up to Hogwarts together. As they walked into the castle, they were met by Dumbeldore, who took them up to his office. When they walked in, they saw Sirius, Atalanta, and Severus Snape sitting there.  
  
"Jamsie-boy! So good of you to come," Sirius said with a grin. James only had time to grin back before Dumbeldore immediately began.  
  
"Thank you all for coming. Let's get right down to business. Severus here has just brought us some interesting information. Tomorrow night, there's going to be a few Death Eaters going on a killing spree. We need you four to apprehend them."  
  
"Why us?" Lily asked. "Wouldn't it be wiser to have the Ministry involved?"  
  
"I do not trust the Ministry. The Minister still refuses to acknowledge that there is something going on," Dumbeldore replied.  
  
"How does *Snape* know all of this?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Severus is a spy for me."  
  
"And you honestly believe that you can trut?"  
  
"I'm not the one who proved that I was capable of murder at age 15, Black," Snape said.  
  
"Sirius, Severus, kindly hold you tempers in check please," Dumbeldore said sternly. "Now, I need to know if you all will accept this- assignment-, if you will."  
  
Sirius and Atalanta immediately replied that they would accept. James and Lily looked at one another first, then James replied, "We will too."  
  
*2 months later*  
  
James and Lily crept through the dark forest. It had been two months since Dumbeldore had contacted them about going on that mission. Fortunately, that mission had gone off without a hitch. Dumbeldore had subsequently given them more missions, and had formed a group, along with Mundungus Fletcher, Arabella Figg, Remus Lupin, Severus, Sirius, Atalanta, James, Lily and himself, called the Order of the Phoenix.  
  
Now, James and Lily were on a mission alone. They were to find a group of Death Eaters who had a bunch of Muggles held captive. Both were completely dressed in black, to blend in with the night. James personally thought that Lily looked great in black, but he was never going to tell *her* that.  
  
James and Lily reached the spot where the Death Eaters were. They were laughing while casting the Crutiatus curse on three Muggles who were huddled in the center of a clearing.  
  
Lily and James each went a defferent way and started to cast stunning spells at the Death Eaters. Lily dashed in to untie Muggles. Suddenly, she heard a voice that wasn't James' cry out, "Stupefy!" Lily turned and cried out as she caught the spell full force.  
  
James saw Lily fall to the ground and called out her name. He then saw a Death Eater rushing towards him and saw a burst of light shoot out of the Death Eater's wand. James felt the Crutiatus curse hit him and couldn't keep himself from crying out.  
  
The curse ended and James realized that he was on the ground. He started to run away, but then stopped when he thought about Lily. He knew he wouldn't be able to help her without some more help, so he made up his mind and started running again.  
  
"I'll come back for you Lily. I promise you," James said as he was running.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Lily woke up from the spell and groaned as she sat up.  
  
"Oh look," she heard someone sneer behind her. "The filthy Mudblood woke up." Lily turned to see Severus Snape standing over her and realized that he had been the one talking.  
  
"Oh good. Now we can have some fun with her," another voice said from behind Severus. Lily looked up again at Severus and saw him mouth, "I'm sorry," to her.  
  
* * * *  
  
Lily had just woken up again after being hit with the Crutiatus, yet again. She had lost count of how many times she had been hit with it.  
  
She looked around and saw that she was alone, save for the Muggles that the Death Eaters had been torturing.  
  
"Are you alright?" one of the Muggles, a woman, asked Lily.  
  
"Ow. I-I'm not sure," Lily replied shakily.  
  
"Who are they? What do they want?" a man asked.  
  
"I-It's kind of hard to-to explain."  
  
Just then, the group of Death Eaters came back. Behind them, in the cover of the trees, Lily saw James, Sirius, and Remus creeping around them.  
  
All of a sudden, the three men cast stunning spells at the Death Eaters. Unfortunately, not all of the spells hit. As the guys rushed into the clearing, the Death Eaters started throwing their own spells at them.  
  
James reached the captives first. He untied the three Muggles first, then got to Lily.  
  
"Wh- Why did you come back?" Lily asked as James untied her.  
  
"I'll tell you later," James replied. "We've got to go. Come on. This way."  
  
James and Lily ran off into the forest. In front of them, they could see Remus, Sirius, and the Muggles running also.  
  
They ran awhile, then stopped, realizing that the Death Eaters weren't following. They were all gasping for breath.  
  
"Alright, who are you and what are doing with us?" one of the Muggles demanded.  
  
"We're trying to save you. I guess you could say that we're kind of like the police," Remus replied. "Are you guys alright?" The Muggles all nodded. "Lily, are you alright?"  
  
"I'm fine. It wasn't that bad. They only used Crutiatus on me."  
  
"How many times?" Sirius asked. "You look awful."  
  
"I don't know how many times. I lost count after 5. How'd you guys know to come?"  
  
"James came and got us," Remus replied.  
  
"Why? Why'd you come back for us?" Lily asked James.  
  
"I had to. I couldn't leave you there with them."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because I love you."  
Okay that's the end of that chappie. Hope it was worth the wait. Pleaz tell me what you thought of this. I really want to know. Ciao!  
  
~^~ Eris wannabe~^~ 


	12. Concrete Angel

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own it, and I STILL am not making money off it. Y'all hear that?  
  
A/N: I am sooo sorry for not getting this up sooner. I've had it written for awhile, but I've been busy and everything with school. Well, at least now I'm on summer vacation, so I'll be able to start a new story, since this is the last chapter of this one. On a different note, I am soooooooooooooooo happy that I have over a hundred reviews, and that I'm on some favorites lists. You people make me sooooo happy. I think I'm gonna cry! Thanx to all that reviewed and I love you all.  
  
Lily stared at him, dumbfounded. James pulled her away from the rest of the group.  
  
"Wh-What d-did you say?" Lily stammered.  
  
"I said I came back because I love you."  
  
"You-you-you can't. This wasn't supposed to be for love."  
  
"It started out that way, but slowly, over these past few months, I realized I had fallen in love with you."  
  
Lily was about to say something when Sirius shouted, "Lily! James! You guys coming?"  
  
"Yeah!" James shouted back. As they walked back, they saw Remus pull something out of his pocket, a stick.  
  
"Hey Sirius," Remus said. "Fetch."  
  
"What's that for?" Lily asked.  
  
"It's a portkey that'll take us to Hogwarts," Remus said. "Grab hold." They all complied and felt the pull of the portkey. As they all stumbled onto the Hogwarts grounds, they saw Dumbeldore heading towards them.  
  
"Lily, I'm glad that you're back. Are you injured?" Dumbeldore asked.  
  
"I don't think so," Lily replied.  
  
"She was hit by the Crutiatus a lot of times," James said. Lily could hear the worry in his voice.  
  
"We'll go up to the hospital wing then," Dumbeldore said.  
  
"No!" Lily replied. "I'm fine. Really!"  
  
"We need to make sure you're alright, Lily. Besides, we need to Obliviate the Muggles' memories."  
  
"Oh," Lily said. In truth, she had forgotten about the Muggles.  
  
They all headed up to the hospital wing where Madame Pomphrey immediately started fussing about Lily.  
  
"Headmaster, really! We have students to think about! What are they going to think if they see a grown woman, many who remember her from school, being hurt by You- know- Who?"  
  
"That's why they all will be out of here by morning," Dumbeldore replied. "First, Lily needs the potion that you always give to Severus after he is subjected to the Crutiatus Curse."  
  
Madame Pomphrey shoved everybody out saying that Lily needed some quiet. She gave Lily a potion as Lily lay there, she began thinking about James.  
  
*He said he loved me. Why did he say that? He had to have been lying. But he sounded really sincere. But he's acted like a real jerk. He did have his moments, though. He could act pretty sweet at times. Not to mention the fact that he's really cute. What the-? Where did that come from? Oh no. No no no no no! I can NOT be falling in love with James Potter!* As Lily thought this, however, she knew she was not falling in love with James, she *had* fallen in love with him.  
  
Lily groaned and rolled over to face the pillow under her head.  
  
* * *  
  
James stood outside the hospital wing. He had just finished telling Dumbeldore what had happened back at the clearing. Now he was worried about Lily.  
  
"Don't worry Prongs. Lily will be just fine," Sirius said.  
  
James began thinking about the months he and Lily had been married. Lately, their fights had become more teasing rather than real. He didn't know exactly when it was that he had fallen in love with Lily, but he was, and he considered himself stupid for telling her.  
  
"Hey Prongs! You listening?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," James replied.  
  
"Why the long face then,? We got Lily back and the Muggles are going home. It's all worked out."  
  
"Just thinking. It's nothing."  
  
"If you say so."  
  
"I'm gonna go in and talk to Lily. See ya later."  
  
* * *  
  
James walked into Hogwarts' hospital wing. He was Lily on one of the beds.  
  
"Hey," James said as he walked over to her.  
  
"Hi," Lily replied warily.  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"Fine. Why do you care?"  
  
"I thought I already told you. I love you." At this, James looked away from Lily.  
  
"James, w-we can't fall in love. We wouldn't work out. We're too different. We'd constantly be fighting we just can't fall in love!"  
  
"Who's said anything about we. I only said that *I* loved you." It was now Lily's turn to look away from James. "Lily, look at me. What did you mean by 'we'?"  
  
"Nothing. Just drop it James."  
  
"No. I'm not gonna drop it. Tell me."  
  
"Fine! You want to know the truth? I love you, you stupid git! Now go away!" Lily turned away from James with tears streaming down her face. Lily felt James' hand on her arm. "Lily, I'm not going to go away. Lily, I want this to be a real marriage. Please. At least give it a try."  
  
"James, I-," Lily said as she turned around. She knew there was no denying it any longer. "Alright," she said with a smile. "We'll try."  
  
James pulled Lily into a tight embrace and kissed her.  
  
* * * 6 months later  
  
James had just apparated home. He saw Lily come out of the kitchen.  
  
"Hey love," he said, kissing her lightly.  
  
"Hi. I have something important to tell you."  
  
"What is it," James asked worriedly.  
  
"I-I'm pregnant. We're going to be parents!"  
  
James looked dumbfounded for a moment, then he picked Lily up and spun her around.  
  
"This means that we have to get that house in Godric's Hollow after all," James said while laughing.  
  
~^~Finis~^~  
  
A/N: Well, I hope y'all liked it. Again I'm sorry that this took so long to get up. Please review, I love all reviews. I don't care if you're reading this a year from now, I'd still like to hear what you thought. Love y'all.  
  
~^~Eris wannabe~^~ 


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